it Women's Basketball vs. Indiana Tomorrow, 7:30 p.m. Crisler Arena INg k. . t Men's Basketball vs. Penn State Tonight, 8 p.m. Crisler Arena Michigan fights to regain top spot Penn State's first visit to Crisler has added meaning By RACHEL BACHMAN DAILY BASKETBALL WRITER There was a time when the Michi- gan basketball team would have rel- ished its current status like a champion- ,ship ring. But after Sunday's loss to Purdue knocked the Wolverines (12-4 Big Ten, 20-6 overall) from the Big Ten summit, they find themselves in a fa- Wniliar position: looking up at No. 1. Michigan will play Penn State (5- I1, 12-13) for the first time this sea- son tonight, fighting for its life in the conference title race. The 8p.m. game will take place at Crisler Arena, an advantage that since Sunday has taken on added importance. "I'm glad we've got them at our place," coach Steve Fisher said. "I'm concerned about the game." According to the Big Ten stand- ings, his concerns are not unfounded. If Purdue beats unranked Illinois Sat- urday, the Boilermakers are guaran- teed at least a piece of the conference title. Michigan, now in second place, must win at least one of its remaining games to share the title. "If you would have told me before the season started 'Would you take tied for the lead with two games to go?' I'd have saidjust whatIdid at the turn (of the season): 'Pencil me in (to finish the second half) 7-2.' Two games ago, I didn't want that. Now, we're back in a position where we are still in total control of what Michigan does," Fisher said. However, for the Wolverines to gain sole possession of the Big Ten title, Purdue must lose the Illinois contest, its last of the regular season. To control its conference destiny, Michigan must win tonight. "It's probably not a really good time," Parkhill said. "I don't know if there is a good time for us to play them." The Nittany Lions' biggest threat is junior John Amaechi. After trans- ferring from Vanderbilt after his fresh- man year, Amaechi took third-team All-Big Ten Honors. The 6-foot-10 center is 11th in Big Ten scoring with nearly 17 points per game and second to Wisconsin's Rashard Griffith in blocked shots with 2.3. Wednesday, Amaechi will take on Michigan center Juwan Howard in the low post. "Juwan and Amaechi are both very good players," Fisher said. "I think they will have a battle royale on the inside come Wednesday." After Amaechi, the Nittany Li- ons' roster drops off considerably. Junior Greg Bartram and freshman Phil Williams will start at forward. Freshman Dan Earl and senior Steve Wydman will fill the backcourt to round out the starting five. Earl was a third-team USA Today All-American in high school. Coming off the bench will be sophomore for- wards Rahsaan Carlton and MattGaudio and senior guard Michael Jennings. Parkhill will need a cohesive ef- fort from the non-Amaechi clan if his team is to contend for a win tonight. The Nittany Lions must display the attributes the Penn State coach ad- mires in the Wolverines. "Everybody talks about their great talent, which is certainly valid. But the thing that really jumps out at me is the way they play together." .,Men's volleyball coach steps down By MELINDA ROCO DAILY SPORTS WRITER For the Michigan men's volley- ball team the time had come to make a change. Just prior to spring break, Pam Griffin stepped down from her posi- t tion as head coach to concentrate on handling the program's administra- tive responsibilities. In the middle of her second season as head coach, Griffin was dissatis- fied with her role in the program and felt a change needed to be made in the best interests of the team. "There are no hard feelings,"jun- ior Stan Lee said. "Pam felt her skills were better suited to help the team in ther ways other than being the head coach." "Pam saw the opportunity to change her role on the team," senior Bill Seeley said. "She has dedicated a lot of time into the program, serv- ing as both head coach and adminis- trator for almost two years. She wanted to devote her time in an area where her strengths would be most productive." Duane Storti has assumed head coaching duties for the remainder of the season. Storti has coached various men's clubs around the East Coast and is currently on sabbatical leave from the University of Washington where he has served as the head coach of the women's varsity team for five years. Storti has spent the past year as- sisting the Michigan women's varsity and club volleyball programs and is enthusiastic about coaching the men's squad. "Though we are in the middle of the season, the team is starting out on a clean slate as far as I'm concerned," Storti said. "The players have a lot to learn, and I expect to see a big im- provement within the next few weeks." The Wolverines agree that the team must get back to preseason basics. "Practices have become more tech- nical," Lee said. "Duane has spent a lot of time with us in developing our individual skills and raising our play to a higher level." In the midst of the coaching tran- sition, the Wolverines struggled this ast weekend in Minneapolis. Fol- lowing a 12-hour car ride and with only six players traveling, Michigan battled mental and physical fatigue as :they fell to Minnesota in three games on Friday night. Michigan fared slightly better in the Minnesota Invitational on Satur- day, advancing to the playoffs with a 5-3 record in pool play but eventually falling to Iowa State in the quarterfinals. "I'm more than satisfied with this past weekend," Storti said. "Having only six men was both a problem and an answer. We just had to play straight away. Andy played well despite being sick, Stan ad- justed to a different position, Justin took control as the setter, and the senior leadership was strong as al- ways. "The weekend was all positive as far as I'm concerned," he added. As for the remainder of the sea- son, Storti has one general focus in mind. "We're working to establish a competitive level. When we get caught in a tense situation, we want to be able to play loose. That's our goal." The Wolverines will host a tri- match against Central Michigan and Cincinnati at the Intramural Building Saturday at 5 p.m. EVAN r- IE i udy Jalen Rose and his teammates will attempt to tie Purdue for the Big Ten lead tonight against Penn State. ' lacrosse to take on By MELANIE SCHUMAN DAILY SPORTS WRITER One of the crucial elements to success in sports is to scout out the competition and devise a strategy for victory. Imagine what it would be like to not only meet different teams every match, but to not know anything about them either. This is often the dilemmathat men's lacrosse coach Robert DiGiovanni must face. Tonight, he and his squad will host the Motor City Lacrosse Club (of De- troit) in what should be a fast-paced, aggressive game - at least on the part of Wolverines. "It's a different kind of game than if we were playing another Big Ten club game ... mostly by definition," DiGiovanni said. "It's a little more difficult not playing the same kind of skill level. It's more of a challenge." Five year collegiate veteran John Paul ('91) is one ex-Wolverine in the lineup for Motor City. Otherwise, all that DiGiovanni has to guide him is an assumption that his club may be in better shape than the city club, made up of post-collegiate players. "One thing we can probably count on is we are in better physical condi- tion," DiGiovanni said as he described his strategy for this midweekmatchup. He will employ afast-paced, "wear- them-down" offense and defense. Michigan attempted a similar plan against the Tampa Bay Lacrosse Club over spring break and was defeated. Right now, the Wolverines are in better shape than many clubs be- cause their season starts and ends earlier than some of their opponents. Approaching the midpoint of the sea- son, injuries have yet to hamper their success. They now posses a 4-1 record and are coming off a lopsided Motor City victory over Northwestern, 26-4. During the victory over North- western, DiGiovanni played many team members who don't normally see first-half action, which is an indi- cation of how much the team misses its injured veterans.. Captain Ivan Frank (ACL shoulder injury suffered in Tampa scrimmage), captain Tony DiGiovanni (knee injury), and Paul Dreyer (torn knee cartilage) have all missed action. "Our bench is going to be a fac- tor," Tony DiGiovanni said, "but we'll take our normal depth as it is. Against a team like Motor City, we use our youth as an advantage." On Cloud Nine after last Saturday's domination over a Big Ten rival, coach DiGiovanni hopes that, "Michigan doesn't fall into acompla- cency trap" when it faces perhaps a bigger challenge tonight. I * I - I Put the paper chase behind you... Finish all your reports with us! -7 Department of Recreational Sports INTRAMURAL SPORTS PROGRAM U1 t,,.. 99 0 Report Binding 1'* or less Velo, Spiral or Glue 65# covers included Dollar Dill C O P Y I NI G 611 ChUrch Street Phoe: 5 200 Fot:9342$00 BROOMBALL (Exciting, Fun, Skill Not Necessary) (Equipment Provided) Entries Taken: Thursday 3/10 11:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. IMSB Main Office Play Begins: Monday 3/14 For Additional Information Contact IMSB 763-3562 JOE WESTRATEIDaily The Michigan men's volleyball team will try to regroup under a new coach. I r Ur Is ECONO.y CAR of ANN AiRoR Open 7 days a week *Rentals available to those 19 years of age and older 438 W. Huron, Ann Arbor, 761-8845 . I 'Ecerise Room *"StuzdyLounge PV"Lounge Computer oom Laundry aeihties A . I I .